VICTORIA — The news out of the Insurance Corporation of B.C. on Thursday confirmed that after four terms in office, the B.C. Liberals are masters of the politically motivated delaying action.

“I am pleased to advise that ICBC’s board of directors has now finalized the terms of reference for the comprehensive independent review of the fairness and affordability of basic insurance rates,” announced Barry Penner, the former cabinet minister who chairs the government-owned auto insurance company.

The Liberals have been mulling such an exercise since last summer, when cabinet minister for ICBC Todd Stone let out that for the fifth year in a row a rate increase was in the works, this time in the four to seven per cent range.

“Why?” challenged New Democrat Carole James during the question period in the legislature, drawing attention to the Liberal practice of siphoning “dividends” from the company. “Could the minister for ICBC explain why he expects ratepayers to pad the government’s bottom line?”

The government was not sitting on its hands, replied Stone, already feeling the political heat from the looming rate increase.

“ICBC is working very hard, with our support, to do everything they can to ensure rates are affordable moving forward,” he assured the house. “That includes strategies around fraud. That includes strategies around executive compensation, the hiring of more claims staff and a wide array of other initiatives.”

The date was July 27, during the brief summer session of the legislature, and worth noting in light of how Stone would repeat those objectives without much advancing on them in the ensuing months.

A month later ICBC filed with the B.C. Utilities Commission for a 4.9 per cent rate increase, pleading “a perfect storm of external pressures” including rising claims, accident rates, injuries and legal and settlement costs. Stone then announced the government was doing its part to reduce pressure on rates by scrapping a scheduled $160 million dividend from ICBC.

There matters stood until mid-November when the commission, seeking to gauge where rates might be headed in the longer term, directed the utility to generate scenarios for the next four years.

That brought a how-dare-you protest from ICBC. Such information would have to be kept secret, the company insisted, lest it “be taken out of context and used to prejudice ICBC and its basic insurance policyholders and thereby harm ICBC’s financial interest.”

Never mind the B.C. Liberal government’s political interest. For when the scenarios were reluctantly delivered and grudgingly made public the following week, it came out that unless ICBC could rein in the cost curve, ratepayers might be facing increases of up to 42 per cent over five years.

Barely had that projection entered into the news cycle when Stone stepped forward to brand it “an extreme worst case” scenario.

“I want to reassure the public that these are extreme projections that do not consider the actions the B.C. government and ICBC are taking to reduce the pressure on rates.”

He also announced ICBC was getting out of the business of insuring Lamborghinis and other ultra-high-priced luxury vehicles, by way of attempting a further distraction — see the bright shiny objects? — for drivers distraught at the prospect of a 42 per cent rate increase.

By then Stone had been fretting publicly for weeks about the broader pressures on rates and his excuses were wearing thin. But he dragged it out for another month before announcing — as a by-the-way to cabinet ordering the utilities commission to approve the 4.9 per cent rate increase — what the Liberals were going to do about the larger problem.

“I’ve directed ICBC’s board to commission a third-party review with a goal to produce a range of options for ICBC to increase fairness, affordability and sustainability when it comes to basic insurance rates,” said the minister, via news release on Dec. 19.

“That oughta hold them for another month,” one imagines the Stone and his fellow cynics around the cabinet table saying to themselves. And more or less on schedule came this week’s solicitation from ICBC for an “independent consulting firm” to conduct the review, coupled with release of the terms of reference.

“The objective is to obtain recommendations following a comprehensive examination of all key cost drivers impacting the affordability and sustainability of basic insurance rates, and potential mitigation strategies,” the release read in part.

“As well, the consultant should consider whether there are revenue opportunities available to ICBC through investment management or ancillary business opportunities being deployed in other jurisdictions.”

There’ll be no going back on public auto insurance, say the terms of reference. But I would not be surprised if the “assessment of experiences from other jurisdictions” leads to recommendations for limits on injury claims, legal action, and perhaps other elements of no-fault insurance.

The bidding process for the consulting contract opened Thursday and ICBC intends to make the final selection on March 24.

The successful applicant will need to know his or her stuff: “The consultant must demonstrate considerable internal capacity and expertise, a global presence, and access to external automobile insurance business expertise where needed.”

But they can take their time about it: “By April 5, the consultant will provide their first briefing on progress to date to the ICBC board and deliver a preliminary report not later than June 30, 2017.”

By then the election will have been over for almost two months. But as they say down at Liberal party headquarters, some things just can’t be rushed.

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